Top free software for writers that are simple yet include useful features

Not matter if you are writing a book or if you are a short story writer you must wonder why do you have to struggle with MS Word day in and day out. In that case you have landed on the correct page. Writing has different meaning for different kinds of writers. Some people want to write for their personal pleasure while some aspire to finish a novel. But one reason that that every writer has in common is a piece of computer software that helps their thoughts and not restrict them.

I am going to list 3 free software for writers here that not just let you put your thoughts on paper (well, the screen is the paper in this case) but also carry the following 3 features:-

This writing software impresses with its introduction – the website. A very minimalistic approach to the interface but not to the features. One of the strongest being the ability to install (and uninstall) plugins. Some examples of plugins being password protection, auto indentation, thesaurus. These are in addition to the list of features that this seemingly simple yet powerful software has, such as – it is lightweight, the users can change layouts, multi language support, standard markup support among others.

The best part of this software is the size of its executable file. It is less than half an MB and requires no installation. You can use it on any Windows machine. Firing it up opens the full screen mode and you have to just start typing. It shows the live character counter at the left bottom. Features include timer, notes and auto-saving.

Although its host website is a little far from impressive but this software has its own plus points. It is available in around 20 languages and you could have the themes customized which gives this software a little character (although it might irk those looking for minimalist-only items).

Focuswriter

This post may be primarily about free software for writers but I would also like to mention Zenpen here – this is an interesting piece of browser based clutter free word processor – you get to write on the browser screen with just 2 different icon based menus – one for formatting and the other for some basic functions such as saving the document. I was hoping to be surprised and this is one software that does that. It is so pleasing to find the amount of talent and its execution in this world. And thanks to internet for all that.